TAFE protesters gather outside NSW gallery

As NSW's tourism minister took to the stage to officially open the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW, the room was far from quiet.

Inside, the murmur of voices increased as George Souris spoke, while outside art students could be heard chanting, "Barry kills art schools".

Up to 200 protesters congregated on the steps of the gallery on Friday night with a plan to greet Premier Barry O'Farrell as he walked up the steps of the gallery.

But a spokesman for Mr O'Farrell said the premier had alerted the gallery on Thursday that he could no longer attend, with Mr Souris opening the event in his place.

TAFE student Penny Ryan said it was "hypocritical" for the government to be unveiling the gallery's newest exhibition, Francis Bacon: Five Decades after it announced earlier this year that TAFE courses in areas of "low employment growth" would no longer be subsidised by the state.

As a result, Ms Ryan said some courses in fine arts, including sculpture, visual arts and ceramics, would cost students up to $12,500 a year to complete.

"Every design of every product and every image has actually come from an artist," she told AAP.